Cafeteria tray



April 22, 1947. c. G. PREIS CAFETERIA TRAY Filed July 6, 1944 Patented Apr. 22, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CAFETERIA TRAY Carl G. Preis, Forest Hills, N. Y. Application July 6, 1944, Serial No. 543,621

2 Claims. 1

My invention relates to cafeteria, trays, and

is adapted to be left on the table and accommodate all of the dishes and silverware of an individual diner during the course of his meal, and which is so shaped and dimensioned that three or more such trays may be assembled in juxtaposition upon the surface of a table in a most effective manner.

Cafeteria trays usually are of a rectangular shape, Which shape makes them impractical for use on the ordinary cafeteria table designed to accommodate three or more diners simultaneously. Usually it is necessary for a, diner to transfer the contents of his tray to the table so that all persons at the table will have suflicient room.

The instant invention contemplates overcoming these difliculties by providing a cafeteria tray that will conveniently nest in juxtaposition with others of the same shape on a table top so that the contents of the tray may be left undisturbed, the shape and construction of thetray being such as to permit easy handling of the tray while placing it on a table and to allow for a space in the middle of the table.

An object of this invention, therefore, is the provision of a tray which is so shaped that three or more of them may be contiguously assembled onthe surface of a square or round table top without interfering with each other or projecting beyond the edges of the table, and yet leave enough room in the center of the table for such usual articles as salt and pepper cellars, sugar shakers and other spice or flavoring receptacles.

Another object of myinvention is the provision of a tray which is adapted to remain on the table top during the course of a meal and which is so constructed that it will not tilt when pressure'is exerted on its front edge.

Still another object is the provision of a tray which is so shaped and dimensioned as to insure to its user an equal and fair share of the space on the top of a table and provide for easy stacking or nesting of the same.

A further object is the provision of a tray which is adapted to remain on the table and hold all the food selected by the diner during the course of a meal and which is so designed that it can be manipulated readily Without disturbing the trays of the other diners at the table.

Yet another object of my invention is the provision of such a tray which has all of the foregoing advantages and which can be manufactured economically with a minimum of material and operations and which conserves space, time,

and labor in its manufacture and use.

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a tray embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a table top illustrating four trays embodying my invention assembled in juxtaposition thereon; and

Fig, 3 is a sectional View taken substantially along line 33 of Fig. 2. I

As a preferred embodiment of my invention, the drawings illustrate a cafeteria tray ID of a novel six sided configuration that will conveniently fit into place with others on a square table top H, although the invention is equally well adapted to trays for round or other shaped tables. The tray is made preferably of light sheet metal such as aluminum. It is understood, however, that many other materials such as plastics, hard rubber, treated fibre, or the like are suitable for its construction. I

The tray is shallow and dish shaped, having a flat bottom I2 formed with a short rear wall section 13, a pair of oppositely disposed divergent or oppositely inclined intermediate wall sections I 4, a pair of continuing and oppositely disposed short parallel side or hand grip wall sections I5, and. a relatively long front wall section [6. These six Wall sections, arranged around the tray as best shown in Fig. 2, slope upwardly and outwardly from the bottom [2 and are connected at their ends and thus form a continuous flaring retaining wall completely surrounding the tray bottom. j

The upper edges of the wall sections l3, l4, l5 and I6 are formed with a flat horizontal flange or rim I! which extends completely around the tray. This rim, on all sides of the tray, excepting the front, is folded under in a hem [8 (Fig. 3) and thus provides a smooth reenforced edge for the tray.

The rear and front wall sections [3, I6, of the tray are preferably parallel. The two divergent side wall sections 14 extend outwardly from the ends of the rear wall section l3, at an obtuse angle, the angle between the divergent wall sections being degrees, and terminate adjacent the ends of the front wall section IS. The short parallel side wall sections l5 extend at right angles from the ends of the front wall sections 3 and merge into the terminal ends of the divergent side wall sections I 4.

Hence when four of these six sided trays are assembled on a square table, as shown in, Fig. 2, they conveniently abut in juxtaposition with the divergent side wall sections 14 of adjacent trays in parallel engagement. Thus a table designed to accommodate four diners may be used to full seating capacity while permitting all diners to place their trays on the table. For round tables of the same size or larger than the square tables, the same general form of tray may be used in which case the angle between the divergent side wall sections may be 90 degrees or larger or smaller depending upon the number of trays being used. Also in such case the front wall section It would preferably be arcuate in shape, corresponding to the shape of the table. Thus this type of tray may be used for any number of diners of three or more depending upon the size of the table. 7

The rear wall sections 13 of the assembled trays cooperate in leaving a clearance space in themiddle of the table for salt and pepper cellars, sugar shakers and other receptacles usually found on cafeteria tables. Hence the use of such trays on the table in no way interferes with anything usually kept in the middle of the table.

The short parallel side or hand grip wall sec tions l are used to grip the tray while carrying it, from one place to another and for placing it on a table. By reference to Fig. 2 it will be readily seen that when the trays are in assembled position, the hand grip wall sections of adjacent trays are in spaced relation so that a clearance space obtains between them. This form of hand grip and the space provided adjacent them facilitates placing of the tray on the' table and picking it up from the table without interference with the adj acent trays.

Provision i made for preventing the tipping of a tray by pressure applied to its front edge while being used at a table. For this purpose the front, edge of the tray is formed with an outwardly sloping support rail 21 which is preferably formed integrally with the rim I! along the front of the tray. This support rail extends downwardly and outwardly toward the plane of the lower surface of the bottom of the tray and terminates in an inwardly folded hem 22, forming a smooth support edge which is flush with the bottom of the tray. The result of such a construction is an inverted V-shaped support along the front edge of the tray, which resists ordinary pressures applied thereto and thus prevents tipping of the tray.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement. of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

Iclaim:

1. A shallow cafeteria tray comprising a fiat bottom merging into and surrounded by six straight upwardly and outwardly inclined connected walls of substantially uniform height, said walls consisting of an elongated front wall and a short parallel rear wall interconnected by a pair of short parallel side walls extending rearwardly from opposite ends of said front wall and a pair of oppositely inclined intermediate walls connecting said side walls with opposite ends of said short rear wall, each of said short side Walls terminating at its upper end in a horizontal outwardly extending flange constituting a hand grip, and a support rail extending downwardly and outwardly from said elongated front wall to prevent forward tipping of the tray when in use, the described arrangement of said tray walls and said side wall hand grip flanges facilitating assembly of a plurality of such trays on a flat surface together with the manipulation of a given tray in the assembly without contact or interference of its side wall hand grip flanges with the hand grip flanges of the other trays.

2. A shallow cafeteria tray comprising a flat bottom merging into and surrounded by six straight upwardly and outwardly inclined connected walls of substantially uniform height, said walls consisting'of an elongated front wall and a short parallel rear wall interconnected by a pair of short parallel side walls extending rearwardly from opposite ends of said front wall and a pair of oppositely inclined intermediate walls connecting said side walls with opposite ends of said short rear wall, all of said walls merging at their upper ends into a continuous horizontal outwardly extending flange with the flanges on the short side walls constituting hand grips, and a coextensive support rail extending downwardly and outwardly from said elongated front wall to prevent forward tipping of the tray when in use, the described arrangement of said tray walls and said sidewall hand grip flanges facilitating assembly of a plurality of such trays on a flat surface while permitting manipulation of a given tray without contact or interference of its side wall hand grip flangeswith the hand grip flanges of other trays in the assembly.

CARL G. PREIS.

REFERENCES CITED The'following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

